TEACHERS OF THE DECCAN
5. RAMDAS
R AMD AS was at once a product of the Pandharpur
school and at the same time the first Deccan teacher
definitely to break away from it. The Pandharpur
saints overwhelmed by the servitude of their country,
had preached resignation and devotion to the Lord
Krishna. Ramdas lived in times, when the national
feelings of Maharashtra had been stirred by the
coming of a hero; and Ramdas' poetry no longer
preached resignation, but a crusade against the
oppressors of his fatherland.
Ramdas was a Deshasth Brahman and was born
in A.D. 1608. He was the son of Suryaji, the village
accountant of Jambgaon, in the Nasik District. His
wife was one Ranubai and they were a pious and
virtuous couple. For a long time their marriage
was not blessed with any children ; so both husband
and wife prayed fervently to the Sun-god. In the
end their prayers were answered and the Sun-god
appeared to Ranubai in a vision. He promised her
that she should have two sons. One of them
would be an incarnation of himself, the Sun-god, and
the other of Maruti, the Monkey-god who helped
the divine hero Ramachandra. A year or two after-
wards Ranubai gave birth to a son, whom she called
Gangadhar and three years later to a second son,
whom she called Narayan in honour of the Sun-god.
Both the children were religiously inclined and when